Life is seen to begin from the time of conception since unborn children are taken as part of the community. The midwife advises on post-natal care of the mother and the baby. It shows an act of bravery and hardship one I s to meet in life. In many matrilineal societies, the maternal uncle in the go-between or undertakes all the arrangements and responsibilities for his nephews marriage.32 In case of divorce, the womens people were legal guardians of the children. Bridgewater College Politics: New political systems and forms of government have changed the traditional community. By Timothy T. Schwartz, PhD. Tembo, Mwizenge S., A Sociological Analysis of the African Personality Among Zambian Students. LeVine40 described some of the customs and patterns that surround interaction in the traditional African family as institutionalized restrictions, segregated patterns, and avoidance patterns. 7 Stuart Queen, Robert W. Habenstein, and John B. Adams, The Polygynous Baganda Family, in The Family in Various Cultures, (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) Ch. 2) Some students also consult them to succeed in exams and career. They are senior members of the community. Payment of dowry shows how the bridegroom values the wife. Edited by G.A. vi. Kinship is reckoned through blood and betrothal (engagement and marriage). Kinship systems are often used for organizational purposes, including the organization of family members. Changing Family Patterns: Sub-Saharan Africa, in World Revolution and Family Patterns. 3. They include;- 1. 5. ii. What is significant about the various descriptions of the traditional African family is that they are from back in the period before the 1940s and in case of the Baganda from the late 1800s. To give the mother time to recover the lost energy. - Sometimes the orphans and widows have their property destroyed or snatched. However the mode of dressing has seriously changed due to western influence. Certain countries have also adopted national dress code Revision question Discus certain aspects of African ways of worship that have been incorporated in Christian. pp.164-202. iv. This shows concern that they have for the child. Land is owned by individuals. The mother and the child is no longer secluded. They are regarded as honest. Those who are lazy are ridiculed. They affect all aspects of Africa, including care, marriages, and social status, since kinship controls people's relationships, moral values, and attitudes. - They negotiate for peace in time of war with another community. Goode, William J. Meanwhile, the median income of married-couple families is much higher ($72,589). First, the strengths, durability, and resilience of the African traditional family were never dwelt on explicitly and at length. How the of rites passage inculcate moral values In the traditional African communities, people learn the moral values through every days activities and through education provided. 8. p119. For example, in the polygynous African family, like among the Baganda, and many others, your fathers wives and brothers were not just mothers and fathers just as mere kinship terms. Some herbalists have been legalized by the government and have opened clinics e.g. - This special treatment starts before and continues after childbirth. They lead people to communal prayer in time of crisis. Before initiation one is not fully considered belonging to the community. drought, famine etc. 25 likes 25,448 views. 2. 8. 1975. There are meteorologists who predict the weather conditions. Traditional African society. First, there is the local unit of matrilocal marriage .. consisting of a man, his wife, his married daughters and their husbands and children,34 Second, the matrilineal descent group which consists of maternal relatives and ancestors traced back to several generations. Majority of women today give birth in hospitals. 4. v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. - Respect. They face challenges from medical practitioners who argue that they should go for formal training. During initiation the initiates are given special instructions that prepare them for future life. The degree of relatedness of carer to the child, socio-economic status of fostering households, gender and age were identified as factors contributing to the well-being of children in kinship care. The literature on the subject is truly as vast and reflects traditional patterns that are as diverse as the variations of the physical looks of the people found on the continent. A change in attitude towards joint family is evident among the urban educated persons. A curse by a senior relative. Traditional kinship structures remain important in many First Nations communities today. They live in one Geographical area. Wealth was seen in terms of: 1. Fourth, special observations related to pregnancy, childbirth, naming of the child, and testing the childs legitimacy as clan member.14, The existence of patriarchy and the patrilineal system among the Baganda might suggest that individual men have the most dominant social status. Polygyny was widely practiced in Africa and it often formed the backbone of the traditional African family patterns. 2. The moral values learnt include:- -Obedience/loyalty. The Plan of Action also asserts that "for the full and harmonious development of their personality, children should grow up in a famil environmenty in a,n atmosphere of happiness lov, ane d understanding". - Life is also considered to be more precious and highly valued. .. 41 Molefi Kete Asante, Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. Circumcision of the girls is a practice that has been widely condemned for health reasons. Some communities such as the Maasai still maintain their traditional way of dressing. Therefore, the new families tend to generally live near or with the husbands parents. 12. Everybody in the community is expected to work hard. - Many people have moved and have settled in foreign lands, which are not their ancestral lands. 4. Land was also the habitat of people, animals and plants. - Wife inheritance has become risky due to HIV/AIDS. 2. iv. They were believed to have a lot of experience in life. The Baganda use classificatory system of kinship terminology which seems common to virtually all the Bantu peoples of Central and Southern Africa. iii. Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. The clan is linked by four factors. © 2023 Tutorke Limited. giving the expectant mother certain herbs. vii. Family. 3. iii. The traditional healers are still important today especially to those who had let down by medicine prescribed by doctors. After initiation one is now free to marry and has a right to inherit his fathers property. - They are given financial assistance. African spirituality is truly holistic. Included in this same bigger household will be servants, female slaves, and their children.10 The father remains the head of the nuclear family units. 3. 4. Such occasions include beer drinking, wrestling, playing football, singing and dancing etc. They are also given special instructions that prepare them for marriage life. It also gives them time to find out the background of the partners e.g. It is also a way of remembering important events in the society. Second, social support is usually sought from the matrilineal line or descent group. Other names can be given according to important events that take place in the community e.g. 3. Agikuyu umbilical cord is kept to symbolize the link between the mother and the child. vi. iv. It is believed that the dead relatives continue to live through children. Religion: Africans now get identified with new groupings e.g. Importance of kinship ties to TAS - The children born after his death were still referred to as his. d. If it is a man, the wife is supposed to stay around the corpse among them show clearly she would miss the husband. - They counsel and guide the youth on matters of sex and marriage Why guiding and counseling was done by elders 1. 5. They act as judges in certain circumstances. bribery, robbery and stealing. Today initiation is not done at particular stage in life. - Presents are given to the baby and mother as a sign of good will. ii. (Eds.) It is believed that after death one continues to live in the spirit world and therefore the dead relatives are to be given descent burial so that they cannot harm the living. The . There are also cases of inter-tribal marriages. - Through marriage, the living dead and those yet to be born are brought together. - In some communities it would last for several days. Other names may also refer to the characteristics of the mothers pregnancy or the nature of delivery e.g. First, two animal totems from one of which the clan derives its name. Importance of Kinship - Kinship system defines how members relate to one another i.e. 6. Others bury the dead with property with a belief that they would continue to use them in the next world. Some of them are (i) Rites of passage (2) Good morals (3) Participation in communal activities such as ceremonies, work, leisure activities and worship (4) Sharing of property and ideas (5) Division of labour. - The practices vary from one community to another. It is a way of compensating the brides family for the loss of a member. The government, the church and non-governmental organizations have built homes for the aged. - Initiation rites have certain symbolic meanings. The anthropology of the Caribbean has been called "the battle ground for competing. Hotel Hope Ministries is a fully registered South African non-profit organisation established with aim of ensuring that each and every child is brought up in a safe, happy and healthy home so that they can grow up and develop into responsible and positive adults. it governs behavior towards each other - Kinship binds together the entire life of a community, the departed and those yet to be born. Death always strikes unexpectedly. - However the practice of looking after widows and orphans is dying out. 4. The developments in science and technology. i. vii. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Society, Culture and Personality. Role of priests, prophets and seers 1. People that belong to the same kinship system are referred to as kin. GAZETTE: How have ancestors . among the Akamba pregnant women are not supposed to eat fats, beans or animals killed using poison. - Widows and orphans feel dehumanized. 4. Caution should be applied when sweeping generalizations are made which make the traditional African family is made to appear static, rigid, and lacking in vitality. When one dies, he joins the world of the living dead. This was because: - i. Africans believe that land was given to them by God. Indeed this sense of kinship binds together the entire life of the "tribe . They heal various diseases using herbs. vii. Marriage ceremonies brought people together as they came together to rejoice. They also perform light duties for relatives. A community has distinct beliefs, customs and cultural practices. But typically news, information, and gossip flow readily through the network, with some individuals acting as "kin . - There are rites of passage that one has to undergo. Sometimes people mistake that they are witch doctors especially Christians. 1. DeVos, New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1976. Even traditionally, ordinary citizens could not achieve marrying more than one wife. Today marriage is for companionship and it is considered to be complete even if there are no children. Many people have migrated to towns where people come from different backgrounds. - Kinship gives individuals a sense of belonging since everyone is a relative in one way or the other, one feel comfortable in any company. - Children made marriage complete. A mans legal entitlements and rights of inheritance are on his mothers side. It is said to be the basic and universal in relationships. Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions, New York: Longman, 1982. In the traditional African Community, marriage was considered incomplete without children. - Life is also seen as communal. ii. Diviners also have religious functions and perform duties of priests such as offering of sacrifice. Communal worship prayers are offered to God to thank Him for whatever he has done. 3 Lucy P. Mair, African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life, edited by Arthur Phillips, (London: Oxford University Press, 1953) p.1. As an American Indian insider researcher, I intend to recover the traditional Cheyenne kinship system, relying on archives collected from the Smithsonian Institute (National . It is not possible to gather initiates together in some communities. In traditional African society this entails a bride-exchange in form of cattle, services, foodstuffs, family ties, or other expressions of the marriage contract. There was never a distinction between the biological and non-biological kin as far as primary parental obligations were concerned. -Close and supportive extended-family relationships -Strong kinship ties with non blood relatives from church or organizational and social groups -Family unity, loyalty, and cooperation are important -Usually matriarchal African American Folk and Traditional Healthcare: Characteristics of African community 1. They include: i. factors affecting kinship ties in modern society, factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society, importance of kinship ties in traditional af. Problems that the elderly face today 1. Bell, Norman W., and Vogel, Ezra F. Members of a community could also come together when defending the community against outside invaders. - They could also feel their body senses to predict rain. [1] - People write wills to share or decide who should inherit their property. Through dreams and vision v. Through observation and practice MEDICINE MEN They have the knowledge of healing certain diseases in the community. - Marriage also unites the living and the dead. in cases of death, the whole community mourn. The houses of grandparents form their sleeping places. That is to say a man goes to live in his wifes village, at any rate for the first years of his married life.22 This is also true of marriage among other Zambian tribes like the Bisa, Lala, Lamba, Chewa, Kaonde, and many others. The attitude of the parents towards the sex of the child is also changing. - They are kept company. During the period earlier than 1940s, marriages remained completely matrilocal during the couples entire life. 3. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) p.68. To give the mother instructions on how to take care of the child. In the western culture, marriage results in permanent bonds between the couple, with centrally assigned sexual rights among the couple and parenthood responsibility. People nowadays migrate and buy lands in far places. Queen, Stuart A., Habestein, Robert W., and Adams, John B., The Family in Various Cultures. 5. Modern education and western culture has affected dowry payment in that many educated attach little value to dowry payment. x. Kinship relationships also determine social obligations and responsibilities, such as who has the right to inherit property or who is responsible for caring for children For this reason, the paper serves only as an introduction to the application of Christian Rites of passage: These are ceremonies that are performed to a group of people to mark important stages of life. - In some communities e.g. LeVine, R.A., Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Society, Culture and Personality. the Agikuyu the ancestors are Mumbi and Gikuyu were created by Ngai. 2. Land ownership: The ancestral land is communally owned and nobody is allowed to sell it. The language of the Baganda carries no word for love or tender affection; the closest is a word that is best translated as like.43. They at times suffer from loneliness and psychological problems How the aged are taken care of today 1. Girls brought wealth in form of cattle to marriage. Circumcision is carried out at times in hospitals for health reasons. Main factors which affect social change can be discussed a follows: 1. Urbanization: Where people of different cultures interact with one another. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING Today many people talk of the way things were sometimes back many factors have affected the African culture. Factors that have affected Kinship system 1. According to Mair, .the polygynous joint family, consisting of a man, his wives, and their children, is the ideal for most Africans.5 Studies conducted from the 1930s to 1950s indicate that polygyny was common virtually in all regions of Africa.6, In spite of the perversity of polygyny, there was evidence that it was on the decline. iv. They act as intermediaries between God and human beings. In some instances a go between would be used to identify a suitable partner. 29 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. - Property can be owned outside ones ancestral home. - Religious organizations assist widows to start income generating projects. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. In the U.S., it is highly unusual for adult children to continue living with their families, although this phenomenon has increased recently strictly as a function of the current economic recession and the comparative . vii. Naming ceremonies also bring unity among the people whenever a new child is born, members of extended family would come to celebrate together. They are believed to be full of wisdom. Most of these ceremonies are religious. And this, together with neolocality, makes it nearly impossible to use kinship in structuring our social order. This difficulty in generalization bone of diversity was already apparent to many early scholars of the African traditional family like Mair(1) and Goode(2). They are consulted in cases where western medicine has failed. They also do the work of advisors e.g. iv. However dowry payment has been hindered by several factors today e.g. Third, certain distinguishing personal names. false T/F: Female slaves generally worked outdoors while male slaves did domestic work. Still, traditional families such as those in Family Ties and The Cosby Show dominated the ratings. LEISURE Leisure is the free time that an individual has at his disposal when he is not bound by duty. They advise the expectant mother on how to take care of herself. - Hardworking. - In others the bridegroom and its party have to fight the brides party in order to get her. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. 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